Star Wars: The Empire's Clutch
by DarthBrudar
Summary: Drake Traulis was a skilled TIE Pilot who devoted his life to the Empire. He was in a well respected TIE Fighter squad known for helping to form the Empire. One day a small little group known as the Rebellion shows up and radically fights the Empire. After meeting an old friend, Drake needs to decide whether he devotes himself to the Empire, or if he can escape the Empire's clutch.
1. The Battle Over Naboo

**Hey guys! thought I should just add a little note here to let you guys know that I plan to post chapters to this frequently. I am open to suggestions for the future of this story but I already have a large amount of the story arc planned out. Please leave any suggestions or comments that you have about this story in a review. I greatly appreciate favorites, follows, and reviews and I really hope you enjoy this story. I personally find it very interesting, but you'll just have to read to find out for yourself. Okay, I'll get out of the way and let you read the story. I hope you enjoy it!**

The battle over Naboo was over within a few hours. Naboo was found to be in strong opposition to the Empire. Drake Traulis was assigned to fight off the Naboo Starfighters above Naboo. They were trying to keep the Empire from the planet's surface, but the pilots of Naboo were no match for the overwhelming power of the Empire. The Empire's main goal was to kidnap the Queen of Naboo, but it was found that the Rebellion sent many soldiers to guard her. Drake flew a brand new TIE Fighter, and was placed under the command of Commander Drask. He and his fighter squadron flew swiftly towards the squad of Naboo Starfighters. Drake didn't hesitate to shoot down three starfighters. He was about to fire at a fourth, but he realized he had one on his tail. He took evasive manuevers in an attempt to shake him, but the starfighter kept right on his back. The starfighter was firing at him and eventually landed a dangerous blow to Drake's left wing.

"Oh no! I'm hit!" Drake yelled.

"Don't worry, I got you!" said Terry Reisan, Drake's best friend in the squadron. Terry flew in with his slick TIE Interceptor and shot down the starfighter.

"Alright, only a few more to go!" Terry said as he flew off towards the remaining starfighters. In no time all but one starfighter was destroyed.

"That's the last of 'em!" Drake exclaimed as he picked off the last one.

"Let's get out of here and let the ground units take it from her!" commanded Drask. The squadron reformed and turned towards the Star Destroyer, but before they got far, dozens of Rebel ships stormed out of Naboo's atmosphere.

"What kinds of ships are those?" wondered Jake Krell, another TIE Fighter pilot. The ships began firing at the TIE Fighters.

"Those must be Rebel ships," announce Drask, "Fire at once!" The TIE Fighters once again broke formation and turned towards the Rebel ships. They were evenly matched, each side had about 50 fighters. Terry, being a great pilot, sped straight towards the group of Rebel ships and took out 3 within a minute. Drake was able to take out 2 Rebel ships, but the damage to his wing proved to be a major problem. He would head back to the Star Destroyer to have it looked at, but the Empire considered it cowardly to leave a battle.

Drake was flying up next to Jasmine Lorens, another pilot sporting a speedy TIE Interceptor. She knew the seriousness of Drake's injury and kept his left side covered.

Suddenly, Jake Krell's TIE Fighter took a massive blow just ahead of Drake. His ship began hurling towards Naboo's surface.

"Rebel scum!" was all that Jake could say before a Rebel finished him off, sending more debris towards the planet's surface.

Just behind him, Larry Gallis, a member of the squadron whom Drake was unfamiliar with, was blown to bits by another Rebel ship. The danger of the situation struck Drake as he saw all of the other pilots meeting their end. The Star Destroyer was making its way to their position, but it wouldn't be in firing range for atleast another 5 minutes.

Drake focused on a Rebel ship flying just ahead of him. He let his aiming systems lock on, and got ready to push the trigger. Just next to him, Jasmine was firing at a Rebel ship, but crashed straight into another ship. Both ships were blown to bits that hurtled down to the planet with great speed. Drake was grateful that his TIE Fighter was more heavily armed than her Interceptor.

"Hold it together," Commander Drask told the remaining pilots of the squad. The Star Destroyer was now only about a minute from being in firing range. Only about 20 Rebel ships remained, however only about 25 Imperial ships were still in flight. The teams were still very evenly balanced.

Drake fired at another Rebel ship, but as no one was covering the damaged side of his fighter, a Rebel managed a huge blow to his TIE Fighter, knocking his left wing clean off.

"I'm going down!" Drake screamed as he hurtled towards the surface of Naboo.

"No, hold on, the Destroyer is almost here!" Terry yelled just before Drake's communicator cut off. Drake soared towards Naboo. He braced himself to be shot down by a Rebel fighter. He fell a bit longer, a bit faster. He waited to be shot and killed. Still he just flew futher towards the planet. Eventually he realized he was out of the firing range of the Rebel fighters, and he looked for where he would land. He fell for about a minute more. He braced himself for impact as his ship crashed into a lake near Theed Palace.

Luckily, the lake wasn't very deep. Drake pushed the hatch open, and crawled out of the TIE Fighter. He swam a few feet but was able to walk the rest of the way. On the beach, he took his helmet off and took in a big breath of fresh air. He had been breathing out of that helmet for hours.

Drake turned around and looked up at the sky. He could barely make out the Star Destroyer firing at a dozen tiny ships. His first instinct was that he had to get back in the fight, somehow. He looked in the direction of Theed Palace and determined that he crashed about two miles away. If there was a way off of this planet, it was there. He grabbed his helmet and began the trek towards the palace.

Drake had been walking for about a half an hour. He felt he was still about a quarter mile out. He looked up at the sky and could barely make out the Destroyer in the distance. It was now barely visible. He had been left behind.

Drake remembered that the Empire was about to storm the palace. If he hurried he could catch a ride back with them. He walked only a few yards when he realized that when he got there he would be faced with several palace guards and several Rebels. He needed to form a plan.

Drake sat on a nearby rock and thought for a few minutes. He again looked up at the sky. The Destroyer was gone, and several Imperial Transports appeared in its place. He now had a plan. It wasn't a very great plan, but it was a plan nonetheless.

He walked the remaining quarter mile of the journey and stopped just outside the palace. The transports were now entering the atmosphere. He hid behind a column as dozens of palace guards ran out to greet the waves of troops. He looked into a palace window and saw the room was empty. He slipped into the room just behind the guards.

Drake had been to Theed Palace before, his uncle had lived here on Naboo before he met his end to the Rebels. His uncle took him to the crowning of Queen Amidala when he was a young boy. He didn't know much about the layout of the palace, but he knew where the hangar was. He hid behind some crates of ammunition as ten or so more guards rushed down the stairs and out the door. A problem emerged when one guard stopped in the middle of the room and guarded it.

Drake had to think fast. He had learned about combat at the Imperial Academy, but he had always been behind the controls of a fighter. He rarely ever actually used his blaster, but it was required that he kept one with him at all times. He saw the transports beginning to land through the window. The guard looked out at the transports as well. He looked very worried for the fate of the palace.

Drake seized this oppertunity to run towards the stairs. He his behind another column. The guard must have heard him, because he turned and started walking towards the column. Drake panicked, pulled out his blaster, and leaned away from the column. The guard saw him.

"Hey, you!" the guard yelled, "How did you already get in here?!" Drake had to think fast, as the guard had his blaster aimed at his Drake's head. Without thinking, Drake drew his blaster and shot the guard in his chest. The guard, fired back just before falling back to the ground. The blaster bolt hit Drake in his right shoulder. Luckily, his armor protected his shoulder from sustaining any deadly injury. He did, however, have trouble using his right arm. He heard more guards rushing into the room, so he dashed up the staircase. Three guards were in the middle of the room, firing at Drake. He sustained only two injuries on his back, and on his right arm. He sprinted for the doors on the end of the left hallway. He opened them and ran through, momentarily losing the guards.

He ran as fast as he could through the halls. Luckily, they were empty; the guards were all out waiting for the army. He heard guards screaming in the halls as well as several blasters being fired. He heard hundreds of footsteps raiding the halls. The Stormtroopers were here.

This brought a beacon of hope to Drake, a hope that he might make it back alive. He continued towards the hangar, never slowing his pace. A minute later he reached the door that he believed lead to the hangar. He opened the door slowly, and looked into the hangar. What he saw wasn't what he thought he would. Rather than a few Naboo Starfighters, he found a dozen Rebel ships. There were several Rebels preparing for battle as well. He felt he would be doomed if he were to go in there. He chose to take a drastic measure. He had a small time bomb in his survival pack. He set the time and without hesitating, threw the bomb into the crowded hangar. He ran as far away from the hangar as he could before the bomb went off. He wasn't far from the hangar when he heard a large explosion from behind him. He looked back and saw that much of the wall was reduced to rubble from the explosion. He heard screams coming from the poor Rebels who were in the hangar. He hid around the corner of a hallway as dozens of armed soldiers rushed out of the hangar. Some were injured from the explosion. He sadly couldn't go back to see the damage he had caused to the hangar. He just assumed the traitors got what they deserved.

The soldiers rushed down the hall towards Drake. Drake turned and ran as fast as he could in the other direction. He found a door open that led to a dining room. Inside he found a long table with two dozen or so chairs. On the other side of the room stood a palace guard. The guard didn't hesitate to fire three times at Drake as he ducked under the table. Drake was almost out of ammo, so he crawled under the table towards the guard. He could hear the furious Rebels storming down the hallway. Drake grabbed the guards leg and sent him flying backwards. Somehow, he managed to grab the guard's blaster and pin the guard to the ground with his foot. He was about to shoot the guard in the face, but he looked in to the terrified eyes of a man ready to die for his Queen, and he decided to let the guard go. He made sure the guard carried no weapons and he pushed him into the now empty hallway.

Drake locked the doors to the dining room, but he knew locks wouldn't hold the Rebels for long. He used his extra time to devise another plan. He waited until he was certain that the hallways were empty, and he slipped out.

He could hear not only the sounds of angry screams, but in the distance he could here bombs blowing up. The Empire intended to reduce Theed to rubble. He heard blaster bolts being fired in every direction, even ducking a few times out of instinct. Drake made his way down to the hangar. It was now empty except for a few injured Rebels being aided by medics.

He saw that in his wreckless attempts to distract the Rebels, he rendered five of the twelve or so ships useless. Drake found his target, a new looking Rebel starship on the opposite corner of the hangar. He slipped into the room and ran from ship to ship, hiding behind each for about a minute. He was only yards away now from the starship. He ran one last time and found the cockpit. He hopped in, attracting the attention of the Rebels in the room. The control pad was labeled, 23-5B X-Wing. X-Wing. That's what they're called.

Drake tried to start the X-Wing but it was locked with a code. That was just his luck. The Rebels had now started towards the ship. Drake tried desperatley to get the ship working, but the Rebels were getting closer. He tried to rewire the ship, but the Rebels were approaching the ship.

Drake had no choice. He had to get out and run. He opened up the cockpit hatch, jumped out, and ran for the exit of the hangar leading into the open sky. The hangar was built into a sort af mountain formation which he tried to use to his advantage.

Luckily for Drake, the Rebels chasing him were left with smaller pistols; the other Rebels took the bigger weapons. Drake ducked and jumped in an effort to evade the blaster bolts, but took about four hits to his back. Again, his armor protected him from a real serious injury. He finally made it to the end of the hangar and he saw the mountainous area the hangar was built in. He jumped and started climbing the mountain.

He climbed about twenty feet and he had three Rebel soldiers on his tail. He still had the blaster that he took from the guard. He fired at the Rebels and knocked them off the mountain, one by one. The Rebels must have called for reinforcements, because another Rebel came with a bigger blaster. They shot at Drake about ten times until he had no choice but to jump off the mountainside, or get shot to death. The drop to the ground wasn't too far. His armor was built to absorb shock from falling, that was partially how he survived the crash. There was another lake beneath him as well. He could use that to land a bit more safely.

Drake decided he couldn't take any more blaster bolts. His armor had withstood enough of those. He stopped climbing, turned around, and leaped away from the rocky cliff.


	2. Vader Joins the Battle

Drake fell down the tall cliff. The drop was only about fifty feet, but it felt longer. He imagined the Rebels at the top looking down at him. If he pretended to be dead, maybe be they would leave. He hoped his armor would keep him from really dying. His choice to jump was fueled by the same energy as his other decisions of the day. He made the decision purely out of fear.

Suddenly, Drake crashed into the lake. The impact stung, but atleast he was alive. Drake began swimming underwater towards the edge of the lake. He tried to stay underwater until he was sure the Rebels had gone back to the hangar.

Drake waited for another minute, until he couldn't wait any longer. He needed to breathe. He climbed out of the lake onto the land. His armor was soaked. He looked up at the hangar. Luckily, the Rebels had left. He looked in the opposite direction. Stormtroopers crowded the field outside the palace. The Rebels had joined the battle against the waves of Stormtroopers. People were being shot left and right. He could go join them, but he wasn't trained to be a ground soldier.

In the sky three TIE Fighters entered the atmosphere. Maybe they had come looking for Drake. The Fighter in the middle had strange shaped wings; like a trapezoid. It was like a mix of a TIE Interceptor and a normal TIE Fighter.

Drake remembered where he'd seen that Fighter before. He was told at the Imperial Academy that it belonged to Lord Vader. What was Vader doing here? The TIE Fighters landed on the other side of the palace.

Curiosity overcame Drake as the Fighter disappeared around the palace. He had to go see why Darth Vader was on Naboo. He found two paths to the Fighters, a more direct path that was sure to be crawling with Rebels, and a longer path around the palace.

Drake decided he wouldn't risk his life out of curiosity, so he decided to take the path around the palace. He walked past a group of Stormtroopers who were setting the palace aflame. One of them looked at Drake, clearly confused as to what a TIE pilot was doing in the battle. Drake continued walking. He passed a group of Stormtroopers who were taking Rebels as prisoners. One of the Rebels gave Drake a dirty look and seemed to curse under his breath. He had a big scar along the side of his face.

Drake tried to avoid as many people as he could. He didn't want to get caught in the conflict. He walked for about five minutes, and he noticed just how painful his blaster wounds were. He needed a medic.

When he got away from most of the conflict, he took his helmet off again and took in a breath of fresh air. He was exhausted. If he hadn't been shot down he would probably be back at the Star Destroyer right now. He imagined the rest of his squadron celebrating their success in defeating Naboo's air defenses.

Drake was almost to the Fighters, he could see them around a corner of the now burning palace. He limped to get there; his injuries prevented him from running. Suddenly he heard a voice behind him.

"Hey, you!" called the voice. Drake scrambled to throw his helmet on as he turned around. The voice came from a Rebel soldier who was clearly wounded recently.

"What're you doing out here? Seperated from your squad ain't ya?" The man had an eerie confidence in his voice. The man drew his weapon, a DL-99 blaster pistol.

"You must be the guy who tried to steal an X-Wing," the man concluded, "and as you know, we Rebels don't like you guys. The Empire is the worst thing to exist in our galaxy's history."

"Ok, you can shut up now," Drake muttered under his breath.

"Now I would kill you under normal circumstances, but we could use you to explain these plans we got for your Death Ball or whatever it's called," the man said.

"It's called the Death Star, idiot," Drake said as he pulled out his own blaster.

"Woah, careful there buddy. I can have ten more of my guys up here before you know it," the man taunted. Drake decided he had enough of this man.

"Now why don't you come with me to our base. We can use you. You might actually be important for something," the man laughed. Drake finally snapped and he pulled the trigger on his blaster, sending a bolt into the man's forehead. The man was dead.

The sound of the blaster attracted the attention of four Rebel soldiers who walked towards Drake. Drake ran back towards the palace. He could hear himself being chased. He got to the palace's doors, but they were locked tight. He reached again for the guard's blaster and shot the lock. He opened the doors and ran inside.

Drake turned and began running down a hallway, but quickly turned around when he saw several Rebels running through the following hall. He ran until he came to another room. Luckily it was empty. He locked the door and got a chance to breath again. He took off his helmet and threw it on the ground. He was exhausted. He looked out the window and saw the palace's courtyard.

One of the doors to the courtyard opened up and two or three dozen Stormtroopers ran out. There were several palace guards on the opposite side of the courtyard. About half of them ran to confront the Troopers while the other half ran inside, presumably to protect the Queen. Some Troopers died. All of the guards were killed.

The doors to the courtyard which the Troopers entered through reopened, and Darth Vader walked out. One Trooper walked up to him andreported something to him, Vader knodded.

Vader walked up to the doors on the opposite side of the courtyard. He threw them open with his force powers, and the rest of the guards rushed out towards him. Vader threw them all aside with the force and let his Troopers take care of them.

Vader ordered some of his Troopers to go in and capture the now unguarded Queen. In about a minute, the Troopers returned with her. Drake opened the window to the room to hear what Vadar was saying.

"Well now, look who we have here," Vader said, "a pretty little Rebel"

"What do you want?" the Queen asked.

"I don't want anything. I need you to tell me where you Rebels keep coming from. Where is your base?" Vader asked angrily.

"I'll never tell you you corrupt, evil person!" the Queen yelled.

Vader began force choking the Queen, "Tell me where your Rebel base is now, or I will kill you right here!"

"If you do, my people will fight you! They will not rest until they get justice!" the Queen snapped.

"If that is the case, I will have it that as soon as you are killed, we will wipe the very existense of you and your palace and everyone living around it. This will set an excellent example of the Empire's power. I will ask you only once more..." Vader said, "Where is your Rebel base?"

"It's... It's on Tatooine!" the Queen cried, "Just don't kill my people!"

"You are of no further use to us," Vader said as he choked her to death.

"Send some scouts out to Tatooine. If they have a Rebel base there, we will find it," Vader ordered a nearby Stormtrooper Commander, "and see to it that this palace is destroyed."

"But sir. We have used the Queen for her purpose. Why do we need to kill everyone?" the commander questioned.

"Are you questioning my power, commander?" Vader asked.

"Uh, no sir, Lord Vader. I will make sure this palace is destroyed," the commander responded.

"Make sure you do, commander," Vader said as he walked back towards his TIE Fighter.

Drake turned back to look at the locked door. He almost forgot he was being chased by Rebels. He had regained a good amount of energy and was ready to leave the room. He was unsure where he would go, but he figured he should meet up with some Troopers.

Drake unlocked the door and opened it slowly. He looked into the empty hallway and stepped out into it. He began to walk out into it when an explosion erupted in the room behind him.

He looked behind him and saw a Trooper holding a rocket launcher. They were destroying the palace just as Vader told them. Drake ran down the hall and went through a door that lead to a balcony.

He watched Vader and his two escorting TIE Fighters fly off the planet. Drake heard bombs going off in multiple directions, and he realized that he needed to get out of the palace. He ran back inside the palace and ran down the halls. He eventually found the same hangar as before and ran inside without thinking. The room was empty except for a some injured Rebels and some rubble. Some of the X-Wings were missing from the hangar, presumably from Rebels who tried to escape.

He ran up to one of the X-Wings that were in decent condition. Drake had time to rewire the ship as no Rebels were on his tail. The injured Rebels were as good as dead anyway.

It took him about ten minutes, but Drake finally got the ship in working order. The controls were almost exactly the same as a TIE Fighter, so it took him almost no time to get used to them. As he took off from the hangar he caught the attention of several Troopers and Rebels. Drake was halfway out of the atmosphere when he realized he didn't even know where he was going. The Star Destroyer may have returned to Coruscant, but he couldn't show up there with an X-Wing. He needed a way to communicate with his squad. He had his communicator in the rubble of his TIE Fighter. He might be able to get it working, but even then his squad probably wasn't in range.

In the distance Drake thought he saw dozens of small ships flying towards the planet. In a minute he saw them clearly. There were several TIE Bombers flying towards Theed Palace. They must have been sent to finish the place off. Drake then saw a much larger group of ships following the TIE Bombers. The larger group was actually firing at the Bombers. In a minute he saw that the group had several X-Wing Fighters and several smaller, quicker ships that he had never seen. The speedy ships were catching up to the more sluggish TIE Bombers. They were trying to blow them up before they reached the palace.

Within a moment it became clear to Drake. The Rebels had called for reinforcements.


	3. A Familiar Voice

Drake didn't know what to do. The slow TIE Bombers weren't built for dogfights. He saw a few of the Fighters turn around in an effort to fend the Rebles off, but they were built for going after larger ships or buildings, not small starships. Before Drake got much more time to think, a message came through on the X-Wing's communicator.

"25-5B, what are you doing? Why aren't you with the rest of your squad?" a man asked over the radio. Drake began to panic. If he said nothing, the man would become suspicious, but what would he say? He had to come up with a lie; and he had to make it quick. Drake thought for a moment.

"Uh, I was sent out to help you guys. There were two more guys with me, but the got shot down in the atmoshpere," Drake lied.

"Who sent you?" asked the man. Drake was in trouble now. He didn't know who would send him up there. He tried to lie again.

"It was, uh, Captain... Johnson," Drake said.

"Captain Johnson? Who is that? We never sent a Captain Johnson to Naboo!" the man grew angry.

"They, uh, had been stationed on Naboo for the past few months," Drake lied. The man wasn't buying Drake's lie.

"Is that so? Where is he now?" the man asked.

"He, uh, got caught in a burning room of the palace, sir," Drake said.

"Well I just tested for a 'Captain Johnson' and there is no 'Captain Johnson' stationed on Naboo," the man said, "Explain yourself, 25-5B!" Drake didn't have much of a choice now. He'd been figured out. He was in firing range of the group of Rebel starfighters.

Drake could think of two choices that he had. He could fight the Rebel starfighters and potentially escort some of the TIE Bombers to the planet's surface, or he could turn around and return to the surface of Naboo.

"Ok, then. Guess I'll shoot you down myself," the man said. Drake had forgotten about him, he was too deep in thought.

Drake turned around and took evasive maneuvers. He knew the man was on his tail. He must be tracking him on his ship's computer. Drake then remembered the TIE Bombers.

Drake couldn't just standby as they were being picked off one by one. He decided he would try and lose the man behind him first, and then help the TIE Pilots.

The man began firing at Drake, but luckily, Drake was a good pilot and was able to avoid the blaster bolts. After being chased for about five minutes, Drake sped up and did a backflip, putting him behind the man's X-Wing. Before the man had time to react, Drake opened fire on the X-Wing. After about a minute, Drake hit one of the man's X-Wing's wings. This caused the man to spin out of control for a moment. The man regained control but had trouble steering his ship. Drake continued firing at the man and eventually hit a part of his other wing. The man lost all control of his ship and was sent hurtling towards the planet.

"I need you guys to take of 25-5B! Avenge my death, guys!" the man said to the other Rebel pilots over the radio.

"Yes sir!" replied about three Rebel pilots at the same time. Drake was still watching the man fall to the surface. Drake then remembered how he'd survived his fall. Drake flew towards the man's ship, ready to finish him off, but a feeling of guilt came over him, and he let the man fall. Drake thought about the choice he'd just made, but he couldn't think for long, because now there were four Rebel starships on his tail.

Drake knew he wouldn't be able to evade all four of the ships, so he turned towards the planet. He was going to fly down to the planet and leave with the other Stormtroopers. They were probably almost done, anyway.

Drake began his journey to the surface of Naboo. As he flew down he could see the Troop Transports taking off, presumably leaving the TIE Bombers to finish the job. He then noticed that only one of the ships was following him now. It was firing at him, but Drake had been avoiding it for awhile. Drake had entered the atmosphere and was nearing the remains of the palace.

Drake was keeping his eye on the Rebel behind him who was piloting one of the smaller, faster Rebel ships, until it shot one of his wings, causing Drake to have difficulty controlling his ship. Drake was done running from the ship. He circled around until the ship was in front of him, and he opened fire. The Rebel pilot in the ship was shocked and Drake was able to get a massive blow on the Rebel starship. The Rebel ship was sent spiraling towards the ground. Drake cried out in success.

Drake decided he could head back to the hangar, but if the Rebels found his X-Wing, they would know he was still out there somewhere. He decided to land in an open field about a mile away from the palace.

After Drake landed and exited the X-Wing, he decided he would go to the palace and catch a ride back to Coruscant with the Troopers. He had to hurry; the first of the Troop Transports had already left the planet.

Drake began to jog towards the palace. There was a tall column of smoke coming from its direction. Drake's injuries prevented him from jogging too fast. He determined he'd jogged about a half mile when he crossed the crash site of a Rebel starship. It was the same design as the one he'd shot down. It may have been the same exact ship he'd shot down, but Drake didn't pay attention to where it crashed.

There were still several transports still at the palace, and plenty of Stormtroopers were still running around, so Drake thought he had enough time to check it out. The inside of the ship's cockpit was labeled 15-6A A-Wing. The smaller ships were called A-Wings. There wasn't a body in the cockpit, so the pilot must have gotten out.

Drake scanned around the crash site, staying alert in case the pilot was still close by. After looking around for about five minutes, Drake decided to start heading back to the palace. If he waited any longer the transports would be gone.

Drake wished he'd landed his ship closer to the palace, but he didn't want to be hunted down by a bunch of Rebels. In the sky, he saw three TIE Bombers flying down to the palace. The other ones must have been destroyed, as the remaining ones were followed by a dozen Rebel ships.

Drake turned to look at the A-Wing one more time before turning around. He walked slowly, his injury getting less painful, but still serious. He had only walked about a hundred feet when he heard a familiar voice call behind him.


	4. An Old Friend

Drake stopped walking in shock. He had heard the voice before. The voice was all too familiar to him. He knew who it came from, but he still couldn't believe his own ears.

Drake slowly turned around, and he saw a person wearing an orange Rebel pilot uniform. Rather, than getting ready to fight, Drake just stared at the man, who had also stopped moving. The two men stared at each other in silence for about a minute. Neither of them believing their own eyes.

Suddenly, the man began walking slowly towards Drake, and Drake began walking towards the man. The man began to jog and so did Drake. Then they began running at each other. When they met they weren't intending to fight. They met with a long, friendly hug. The man who ran up to Drake was not any ordinary Rebel pilot. The man was Drake's little brother, Cole Traulis. The two stopped hugging and looked at each other.

"Wow," Drake said, "It's been so long."

"Too long," Cole replied. The men were silent for a minute more, still not believing who they were seeing.

"We haven't seen each other since you left home to find work. I never knew you were joining the Empire," Cole said.

"Well you never told me you were joining the Rebellion," Drake replied, "Didn't Mom ever tell you that I was joining the Empire?"

"No, she didn't. In fact, when I asked her if you'd found a job, she simply said she didn't know," Cole responded.

"What? I told her. I wrote to her whenever I had a chance. Unfortunatley, you don't get a whole lot of free time when you're working for the Empire," Drake said.

"Why wouldn't Mom tell me you joined the Empire? That doesn't make sense," Cole said.

"Maybe," Drake replied, "Maybe she didn't want you to know. I always kind of suspected that she had something against the Empire, but I never said anything."

"If you knew that then why did you join them?" Cole asked.

"Well, I wasn't intending to join the Empire at first. I went to Coruscant to look for work, and when I got there I heard all of these things about the Empire. Some were bad; most were good. I decided after I had been looking for a job for two weeks that the Empire would be the only job I would be able to get anytime soon. I have since become a well respected pilot in the Imperial Navy, and I have been loyal ever since I joined," Drake answered.

"You know, I had some trouble finding work too. Mom told me to go look for work on our home planet, Alderaan. I had been searching for work for about a week when I came across this strange group that called themselves the Rebellion. They tried to recruit people and they easily convinced me that the Empire is corrupt. I quickly signed up and became the pilot of this crashed ship you see right here," Cole said pointing to the crashed A-Wing.

"Oh yeah," Drake said, "Sorry about that."

"Well, I mean, you were just doing your job, as I was doing mine," Cole replied. "You were always a better pilot than me anyway."

Drake was about to speak but he was halted when he heard a huge explosion from behind him. Two TIE Bombers were still in flight, and they began bombing the palace.

"Well, looks like you guys are bombing the palace," Cole said. "Think about this. Does a government that isn't corrupt bomb innocent people in a palace? Why don't you leave the Empire? We could be reunited once again!"

"Are you saying the Empire is evil? I could never fight against them! I will remain loyal to them until my last breath!" Drake exclaimed. "Why don't you leave that ridiculous Rebellion. All they are are a bunch of radical terrorists!"

"You're calling the Rebels terrorists? The Empire is bombing a palace full of innocent people! Can't you see the Empire's brainwashed you!" Cole yelled.

"The Empire has done nothing that wasn't neccesary. Lord Vader has told us to bomb the place, so we're bombing it! No one can convince me that this is a bad thing!" Drake yelled as more explosions went off in the distance.

"Not even your only brother?! You only listen to that reckless black-suited monster because you are afraid! You are afraid he will kill you if you don't!" Cole screamed.

"Afraid?! The Empire is not afraid! Cowardice is shunned in the Empire! If anyone should be afraid it is you and your Rebellion! You have openly denied the Empire and now, Lord Vader will not rest until all of you are wiped out! If you come to the Empire, none of this will happen to you. We can fight the Rebellion together. We can fight as brothers." Drake said.

"Fight my friends?! I would rather die than join your evil corrupt Empire!" Cole yelled.

"You must understand. I could never leave the Empire. I have been in for five years, and I have no plans of leaving anytime soon. Sooner or later you will realize. You will realize that your Rebellion is wrong and that the Empire was doing the right thing all along. I only hope you realize this before it is too late for you," Drake said.

"You know what Drake? I used to look up to you. I used to try my hardest to follow in your footsteps. I thought you were the best older brother ever. I thought of you like a Jedi. Wise, and always finding the best solution to a problem, and even though you messed up sometimes, I never would have imagined that you would have messed up so badly. I used to look up to you, but now that I see how you really are, how evil the Empire has made you, I just can't respect you anymore," Cole said. Drake was about to say something, but he was so shocked by his brother's words that he just stood in silence.

"Goodbye Drake," Cole said, "I hope that the next time we meet, you are a changed person." Cole said nothing more and limped away, clearly injured from the crash.

Drake would have stopped Cole from leaving, but he was so shocked at how serious Cole was, that he almost believed his words.

What if the Empire was corrupt? What if this whole time he had been on the wrong side of the fight? Drake came to attention and convinced himself that Cole was wrong. He had to. He couldn't live with the thought of fighting on the wrong side.

Cole had already disappeared from sight, and Drake was unsure where he went. Then Drake remembered that he was trying to get to the Troop Transports. He looked towards the palace and ran. He couldn't see any transports, but he had to find one. He had to get back.

Drake ran faster than he should have with all of his injuries, but the pain from the injuries didn't bother him. All he thought about was his fight with Cole. Drake arrived to the remains of the palace after running for about five minutes. He didn't see any transports in on that side of the palace. He quickly ran to the other side of the palace and to Drake's luck, three transports were still loading Stormtroopers onto them.

Drake ran sprinted faster than before to the closest transport and talked to the Imperial Officer who was about to board.

"Who are you?" the officer asked, "And why are you here?"

"Sir, I'm TF-2285, or Drake, and I was seperated from my TIE squadron when I was shot down to this planet. I need a ride back to my squad," Drake said.

"Well... luckily we have some empty seats in there, the Rebels were feeling extra radical today. Your squadron should be back at Coruscant, which is where we're heading. When we get to the planet you can go and find your squad," the officer said.

"Yes, sir," Drake replied.

"Yes now get on before I change my mind," the officer said. "Oh, and someone get this guy a medic!" the officer yelled into the transport.

A Stormtrooper with a first aid kit walked up to Drake and took him towards the back of the transport. Almost half of the seats were empty, presumably from deceased Troopers. The medic began cleaning Drake's wounds, and the ship began to take off.

Throughout the ride Drake thought of how tired he was. He'd seen more action in one day than much of his career. But what he thought about the most were his brother's words. He tried hard to forget them, but he would find himself believing them. All of them.


	5. Return to Coruscant

The journey didn't take too long, but to Drake, it felt like forever. The medic had finished patching up Drake's wounds, and the pain had lessened. The medic took off her helmet.

"You must have had quite a fall out there," she said, trying to be nice.

"Yeah, I guess," Drake responded.

"Oh c'mon. You're so lucky to have survived a fall like that!" she continued.

"Ok," Drake answered, not wanting to talk to anyone. The medic realized Drake didn't want to talk so she put her helmet back on and she left him alone for the rest of the ride.

When they arrived at Coruscant, Drake didn't hesitate to leave. The officer told him that the rest of his squad was in a meeting room near their hangar. They must've gone there from the Star Destroyer.

Drake walked through a door that led to a long hallway. A few Stormtroopers walked past him on his way to the meeting room. The last time he was walking through hallways he was running for his life.

After about a minute, Drake arrived at the door to the meeting room. He opened it up, and sure enough, the rest of his squadron was sitting at the table in their normal black uniforms.

Sitting inside was Commander Drask, Terry Reisan, and a dozen other pilots who he knew but didn't talk to very often. All of them were in shock. They thought Drake was dead, his corpse lying on Naboo's surface. It was like he was a zombie.

"Well.." Commander Drask said, "Look who's here."

"Sir," Drake responded.

"You're alive?" Terry asked still in shock.

"I think so," Drake replied.

"Well then..." Commander Drask said confused, "Why don't you go get changed and we'll go over our plans for the future when you get back." Drake looked at his suit. There were scratched and dents all over it. He hadn't even noticed.

"Yes sir," Drake replied. Drake turned and left the room. He turned towards his quarters and went inside. His room was small but after being in the Empire for five years he learned to accept it as home. It had a small bed, a radio, and a small bathroom with a toilet and a sink. It also had a small closet where he kept his uniforms.

He quickly grabbed one of his uniforms and put it on. He looked in the mirror that he had put in his closet, and he realized just how tired he looked. His face was wet from sweat and he had several scars on his face. He went into his bathroom and washed his face. After drying it with a towel he figured he was ready to return to the meeting.

Drake left his quarters and returned to the meeting room. He went inside and sat in a chair next to Terry. Commander Drask continued with the plans.

"Okay Drake, since you missed the beginning, I'll summarize. We have found that the Rebels have somehow gotten ahold of our plans for the Death Star. As you know it is scheduled to be completed by the end of the month. We believe the Rebels are planning an attack upon our Death Star and our squadron has been tasked to defend it. Of course, we will have help from some other squadrons as well. We also believe that if we can find the secret Rebel base, we can put an end to this Rebellion," the Commander commanded.

"Yes sir," Drake replied. The talk about the Rebellion brought memories of his brother back to him. He would never be able to live with himself if he had to kill his brother, but Cole might make Drake kill him. He was a Rebel. He was against the Empire.

Commander Drask continued. "Okay everyone, tomorrow we have a mission given to us by Lord Vader himself to inspect an area of an asteroid field where there has been a lot of Rebel activity. Our goal is to try and find a Rebel base, and hopefully the Death Star plans."

"Yes sir," five of the pilots said in unision. The day was almost over and Drake was exhausted. He had to go out on another mission already tomorrow. The Empire certainly doesn't give much vacation time. Drake was to recieve a brand new TIE Fighter straight out of the factories of Sullust. Hopefully he doesn't wreck that one as well.

Just after dinner, Drake left the Mess Hall and was followed by Terry.

"Hey, Drake!" Terry exclaimed.

"Hey," Drake replied.

"Man, I thought you were dead!" Terry said. "I thought that I would have to find someone else to hang out with."

"I thought you would to," Drake replied jokingly.

"So, how did you make it back to Coruscant?" Terry asked.

"Well, I got on a Trooper Transport. I wasn't too excited to be getting back though. This place is a polluted, overpopulated junkyard with too much traffic," Drake said.

"But you came back anyway," Terry teased. "We can count on you to put the Empire above your own needs."

"Yeah, I guess," Drake said thinking of his scolding from Cole. He would see him again soon. He didn't know how, but he was certain of it. He could sense it. Almost like the force.

"Yeah, but don't worry," Terry said, "In a few weeks we'll be stationed up at the Death Star. You've got to admit, it looks pretty awesome."

"Yeah, it does," Drake said cheering up.

"Hey man, you look tired. You must have had a long day, you know, dying and coming back to life and all," Terry laughed.

"Yeah, it's exhausting work," Drake smiled.

"Well, you need to get some rest. I'll see you in the morning," Terry said. "Night."

"Night," Drake responded.

Drake stepped outside for a minute and stood on the balcony. He looked out over the towering city. Ads were everywhere, people were walking over all of the bridges and platforms. Signs for the Empire were posted everywhere. Stormtroopers were out for their nightly patrol. That must be the most boring job to get in the Empire.

Drake yawned and turned to head back to his quarters. He got to the door and walked through. He brushed his teeth and got in his bed, but sleep never came. He tried to force himself asleep, but he couldn't stop thinking of his brother, and how he knew he would see him again soon.


	6. The Asteroid Field

After the seemingly endless night, Drake's alarm began to blast. He got at most three hours of sleep, and he wished he could stay in his small, hard bed all day. Unfortunatley, he didn't have much of a choice but to get up. He had another mission today. Drake only hoped that it was just that. Another mission. An uneventful mission.

Drake got out of his bed and put on his new TIE Pilot suit. He looked at the shiny new helmet that was provided for him. It would help him forget the little adventure he had yesterday.

When he finshed getting ready for the day, he stepped out of his room and headed towards his squadron's hangar. Most of his squad was already waiting for him when he got there. Drake ran up to his new TIE Fighter and admired it.

"Hey Drake!" Terry said as he walked up to Drake.

"Hey," Drake replied.

"You ready for your first mission in your new Fighter?" Terry asked.

"Yeah, maybe if I crash this one they'll give me a new TIE Interceptor," Drake joked.

"Well, not to brag, but my TIE Interceptor is pretty fast. It's really fun to fly!" Terry replied.

"Okay you can stop 'not bragging' now," Drake said.

"Don't worry, man. You've only got to go on a few more missions before you can upgrade your ship if you want," Terry responded.

"Yeah, guess that's true," Drake replied.

"Everyone, we're departing from the hangar in two minutes," Commander Drask interupted. "Get to your ships and prepare to take off!"

"Well, better get going," Terry said to Drake.

"Alright," Drake answered. "Good luck out there!"

"You too!" Terry replied. "Oh, and be careful out there. You already got injured badly enough. Badly enough to make u think you were dead."

"Ok, I will," Drake responded.

Terry nodded towards Drake and took off towards his ship. Drake turned around and began to climb the ladder to his TIE Fighter's cockpit hatch. He watched Terry jump into his TIE Interceptor, and he jumped into his own ship. The Fighter was brand new; there wasn't a scratch on the ship.

In the corner of the control panel was a small label that read, "TF-2285 TIE Fighter, Sienar Fleet Systems; Sullust." Sullust was a boiling planet that was always bursting with lava. It was one of the more dangerous planets in the galaxy. Drake had been stationed there once, as a pilot in training. He had been instructed with the basics of flying a TIE Fighter and he had been taught several flight maneuvers to avoid blaster bolts from enemy fighters. Sullust housed a large portion of the Empire's factories where they would build TIE Fighters, AT-ATs, and other Imperial vehicles.

Drake had realized he had been daydreaming. Half of his fleet had already left the hangar. He rushed to turn his fighter on and he put his helmet on. He quickly lifted off the ground and flew to catch up with the rest of his squadron.

"Remember our destination," Commander Drask said over the communiator, "We are heading for an asteroid field near Naboo simply called KR-8. We will have help from another squadron led by Commander Strifer. We will meet with them at the rendezvous point. Our mission is to locate a Rebel base and report to Lord Vader."

"Yes sir!" replied five of the pilots in unision. The journey was a pretty long one, but their ship's solar panels provided enough energy to get them there. They decided against taking a Star Destroyer, as that would alert the Rebels of their presense.

After about three hours, the asteroid field was in their sight. Another squad of TIE Fighters flew out from the field. They must have been the other TIE Fighter squadron.

"Remember to dodge the asteroids," commander Drask said to the squad.

The squads broke formation as the entered the vast asteroid field. The planet of Naboo was clearly visible directly to Drake's left. It was a colorful marvel to admire.

Drake weaved through the asteroids with the rest of his squad. He bobbed up and down to avoid the giant spinning rocks.

"Be on the lookout for any suspicious activity!" Drask said. Drake looked around. In front of Drake was a huge asteroid, much bigger than most of the other ones.

"Sir," Drake said, "Should we inspect the surface of the asteroids?"

"That will not be neccesary," Drask said. Drake thought for a moment.

"Sir, what if we send smaller groups to each of the larger asteroids to inspect?" Drake asked. The Commander thought for a minute.

"Fine," Drask replied, "we can have groups of two go and inspect the larger ones, but keep in touch with each other. If you find anything suspicious report back to me immediately."

"Yes sir," Drake answered.

Drake flew towards the large asteroid.

"C'mon Terry!" Drake said.

"I'm coming," Terry replied. Terry caught up to Drake with ease in his slick TIE Interceptor.

The two TIE Fighters approached the surface. They flew a few meters above the surface to avoid crashing.

"Well," Terry said, "where do you want to land?"

Drake looked around, "Land by that cave there!"

"Alright boss," Terry joked. The two landed their fighters side by side in front of the cave. The cave looked small from far away but was actually huge. It was atleast twenty meters tall.

The two hopped out of their Fighters. their life support systems allowed them to breathe on the asteroid.

"So why did you want to come here?" Terry asked.

"I don't know," Drake responded. "I just had this strange feeling; like I was being pulled to come here."

"That's probably just the asteroid's gravitational pull," Terry said. "That cave is just a normal cave."

"Maybe," Drake replied. Drake began walking into the dark cave.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Terry asked.

Drake thought a moment. "No," he said as he turned on a flashlight. The two walked further into the cave until they reached a dead end.

"See, this place is empty let's go," Terry said as he turned to leave.

"Wait," Drake said.

"What?" Terry asked.

Drake was quiet for a minute. Then he turned around and walked towards the wall. He examined the lining of the cave's wall. The cracks and ripples seemed to change disappear at a certain point. Drake felt around on a flat surface in front of him and felt something cold.

Drake felt something that was cold and hard. It was metal.

He pointed his light at the metal object, and Drake found himself pointing it at a metal bar. It was a doornob.

"Woah," Terry replied, clearly shocked. "How'd you find that?"

Drake thought again. He had surprised himself. "I... It was like I was being pulled towards it... Like I was supposed to find this..."

"What?" Terry replied, still very confused.

"I really have no idea how this happened," Drake said.

"Well we better report this to Commander Drask," Terry said.

"Wait," Drake said. "We should check what's inside first."

"Okay," Terry said as he moved to turn the doornob. "So you just found this out of dumb luck?" Terry asked as he pushed the door open.

"No," Drake answered as a feint light from within the door covered his face. "It was like I was pulled here by some kind of force."


	7. The Secret Base

The light from the door was blinding. Drake and Terry had been in the dark for nearly twenty minutes. Their eyes had just adjusted to the dark.

"Well," Terry said, "You go first..."

Drake was still for a moment. "Alright," he said.

Drake slowly stepped into the blinding light from within the room. He saw Terry drawing his blaster and preparing to fire. Their eyes adjusted to the light after a minute. They were in a small white room with four small cots and a cabinet.

"What is this place?" Terry thought aloud.

"It looks like some sort of medical area," Drake answered.

The two were silent again. "You know, maybe we should report back to Drask before we go any farther into this," Terry told Drake.

"We'll report in a minute, but I want to get a closer look at this," Drake replied.

"Okay then," Terry responded. The two walked towards a door with a control pad to its left. Drake pushed a button to open it up and they both hid behind the wall next to the door. They could hear two people having a conversation.

"Sir, we have found two Imperial Fighters landed just outside the base," the first man said.

"Really? Well then send a team to investigate them, there's no way they can find this place, but they could be out there," the other man replied.

"Yes, sir," the first man said as he turned and walked away. Drake signaled to follow the man who gave the instructions. Drake looked into the hall to make sure it was empty, and it was. The two sneaked out and hid behind a pile of crates.

"You know we really should report this to Drask," Terry again told Drake.

"Just give it a moment," Drake replied.

"Alright, but if we get caught and the mission is compromised, I'll blame you," Terry said.

Drake sighed. "Okay fine, we'll report this."

"Let's go back to that room," Terry said.

"Alright, let's go," Drake replied as they turned and abandoned the man they were following. They checked to make sure the hall was empty and they went back into the room. They closed the door behind them. Terry turned on his communicator.

"Commander Drask, we have news to report," Terry said.

"Yes, what is it?" Drask asked.

"We believe that we have discovered the location of the Rebel base," Terry said.

"Really? Where is it?" Drask asked.

"It's located in a cave on the large asteroid that me and Drake checked out, sir," Terry said.

"Send me your coordinates and I'll be right there with the rest of our squad," Drask said.

"Yes, sir," Terry replied as he turned off the communicator. He pressed another button to send his coordinates to Drask.

"Okay, we're good to go!" Terry said. The two turned to leave the room, but when they opened the door there were two men walking down the hall with blasters. They turned around at the sound of the opening door and began running towards Terry and Drake.

"Hey, you!" one of them shouted.

"Oh no," Drake said as he closed the door and turned towards the exit into the cave.

"We have to go!" Drake said.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Terry replied.

They opened the door to the cave and took off. The sounds of the men chasing them echoed in the cave as they entered.

"Wait a minute," Drake said as he ran.

"What?" Terry asked.

"We could use this darkness to our advantage," Drake answered.

"How could we do that?" Terry asked.

"Like this," Drake said as he pushed Terry to the side of the cave and urged him to squat down. A moment later the men from the base ran past them.

"Well, that worked out nicely," Terry said.

"Yeah it did, now let's get back to that base!" Drake said.

"Are you crazy? We could get killed in there!" Terry said.

Drake thought for a moment. "Wait a minute, we could chase those men down and take their uniforms!"

"Really? I don't know if that'll work. Besides, we would have to be able to knock them out to do that," Terry replied.

"Good idea!" Drake answered as he picked up two rocks. He handed one of the rocks to Terry. "Follow me," he told Terry.

The two ran off in the direction of the two men. The men had stopped now as they realized that they had been outsmarted. As the men turned to leave, Drake pelted his rock at one of the men's foreheads. The man fell to the ground and his companion rushed to aid him. At that time Terry threw his rock at the other man, leaving him unconscious. Drake and Terry looked down upon the two men.

"Better make sure they aren't dead," Drake said as he bent over to listen for the men's heartbeats.

"Yeah, alright," Terry replied.

After Drake found that they were alive, he and Terry switched uniforms with the unconscious men. The uniforms luckily fit them, but very loosely. When you fly spaceships all day you don't have much time to build up a whole lot of muscle.

Terry and Drake turned to reenter the base. Drask and the rest of the squad was surely almost there. When they again reached the door leading to the base, they slowly opened it and checked inside for anyone. Luckily it was empty.

The two pilots walked into the room and shut the door behind them. The room was just as they left it. They went to the door that lead to the hallway and opened it up. Their first instinct was to hide and wait, but they didn't need to with their stolen uniforms on.

Drake and Terry walked down the hall and looked around. The hallway was a mess; there were crates and stools everywhere. The pilots reached a room at the end of the long hallway and entered it. Inside were about ten people in Rebel uniforms working at computers. One of them looked at Drake, and he was afraid their disguises hadn't worked, but the Rebel just nodded at him and went back to his work.

Drake and Terry approached another door that read "Control Room" above it. Terry pressed a button and the door opened up. As the two stepped inside, a deafening siren began to blare.


	8. Battle Formations

The people at the computers rose from their seats and began to run towards a large room. Inside stood the man who Terry and Drake had tried to follow earlier. To avoid people being suspicious of them, they followed the crowd into the room and stood in the formation with the other men.

Terry flashed Drake a worried look. "Do you think they figured out that we're..." Terry stopped to avoid being found out, "That we're... not them?" Terry whispered as the siren continued to whail. Drake simply shrugged and turned towards the man who was about to talk to them.

"Alright, men," the man began, "As you know, we have found two Imperial ships just outside this base." Terry shot Drake another terrified glance. "We have had a crew inspect these ships, but no pilots have been found. We believe that these pilots have somehow discovered our base. How do we know this? Well our scanners have picked up an entire squadron of the Imperial ships approaching our base now. They are expected to arrive here in about five minutes. We could wait to see if they pass by, but I feel that this is a chance to show the Empire the might of the Rebellion. I want all pilots to get to your ships and fight off these Imperials. We will not lose men. Get to your ships now!"

The men all around Drake and Terry turned and ran towards the hangar. Some men ran to the control room to oversee the attack.

"We've got to warn Drask!" Terry said to Drake.

"I know. We have to get back to that cave. It'll hopefully be quiet there!" Drake replied.

Terry and Drake ran for the small medical room. They passed dozens of Rebel soldiers who were yelling and cheering. They were ready to fight Drake's squad.

Terry and Drake found the door to the medical room and opened it up. Terry ran through but Drake stopped for a minute.

"What are you doing? We have to go!" Terry commanded.

Drake stood still for a moment. He turned around and just behind him was a group of Rebel pilots running towards the hangar. One of the pilots slowed and turned around towards Drake. Drake was right. He had known he would see him soon. The pilot was none other than Drake's brother Cole.

Cole and Drake stared at each other. Cole had a disgusted look on his face, while Drake's expression was one of shock. Cole had a new scar across the side of his face. Cole walked up towards Drake until they were only a few feet apart.

"What are you doing here?" Cole asked his brother clearly surprised.

"Why are you here?" asked Drake.

"They brought me here from Naboo," Cole answered. "Did you join the Rebellion without me knowing?"

"No, of course not," Drake said.

"Then I'll ask again. Why are you here... How are you here?" Cole asked.

"I'm on a mission... We believe that you Rebels possess something that belongs to us," Drake said.

"What do we 'possess?'" Cole asked.

"You have our Death Star plans and we have come to take them back from you!" Drake said.

"You think we have those plans here on this base? We have bases scattered across the galaxy. I can assure you that your plans aren't here," Cole said.

"Well in that case, you're wasting my time," Drake said as he turned to leave.

"Wait a minute," Cole said as Drake stopped walking away, "I can't just let you leave. I'm afraid I'll have to take you as my prisoner."

"What?" Drake asked.

"You'll have to come with me," Cole said.

Drake was silent for a minute. Then, he kicked Cole in the shin, causing him to fall over. Drake and Terry opened the door to the cave and ran out towards their Fighters. He realized that Cole wasn't following them. He must have gone to his A-Wing. The two men whose clothes they stole were still laying on the ground. They quickly put their TIE pilot suits back on and left for the Fighters.

"Dang, it must be tough when your own brother joined the Rebels," Terry said.

"I just... I don't know," Drake responded.

When the two TIE pilots reached their fighters, they realized that they hadn't yet warned Commander Drask of the attack.

Terry took out his communicator. "Sir, you have to turn back!"

"What, why would we do that?" Drask replied.

"The Rebels are planning to attack you guys! There's tons of them! You have to turn around!" Terry said.

"That is not the way of the Empire! We will fight until the last man! We will not be bested by this blasted Rebellion!" Drask commanded.

"But sir, they will not stop until you are all dead!" Terry said.

"Well then, this will be an interesting battle," Drask said as he cut off his communicator.

"Well Drake, they're all going to die now. Did you see how many Rebel ships there were?" Terry asked.

"Don't lose hope yet. We have to help them!" Drake said.

The two got into their TIE Fighters and lifted off. They could see the rest of their squad just beyond a rocky cliff. They flew and joined the formation of the squad. They had no choice; they had to fight with their squad.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, nearly a hundred Rebel ships flew out of some small caves in the rocky mountain. The battle would be long and bloody. The battle would be painful for Drake not only physically, but mentally as well. Quickly, the TIE Fighters broke their formation, and began their attack on the Rebels.


End file.
